Chapter 5: Silent Rage

Looking at the short, stout figure across the street, Ye Aihua suppressed the urge to tremble.

"Hongfei, you go back first. I just remembered I need to go to the general market."

Xie Hongfei glanced back at her, nodded, and headed straight into the alley.

Ye Aihua impulsively wanted to open her mouth and call him back, but she didn't dare, especially after seeing that the figure had already sat on the bicycle seat, waiting for her.

She shuffled over reluctantly. "Why did you come here? If someone sees us, we're finished!"

No matter how unwilling she felt inside, she dared not refuse; she could only complain with a tone that was half-coquettish and half-resentful.

The short, stout man’s gaze was still fixed on the mouth of the alley. He chuckled, said "Get on," and then withdrew his eyes. "Is that your intended?"

Ye Aihua bit her lip and glared at the man. "Don't you dare have any ideas about him!"

Having spent time with him, she knew that he was a man who would stop at nothing and had a ruthless heart. She was truly worried that he would target Xie Hongfei.

The man’s face darkened instantly. "Get on!"

Ye Aihua’s teeth chattered. She subconsciously took two steps back, but under the man’s icy gaze, she quickly climbed onto the back of the bicycle.

...

"Are you sure? You won't regret it later?"

After coming home from work that evening, Weian changed her clothes and helped her mother prepare dinner. Her mother asked her this while they were eating.

Weian swallowed the stir-fried bitter melon in her mouth before nodding. "I've thought it through. My second sister is right; you and Dad are the people closest to me. Everyone in this world might harm me, but you two never would, so I will listen to you."

It wasn't that she hadn't seen cold-hearted parents, but she was lucky; in both lifetimes, her parents had loved her dearly. Of course, the parents from her previous life, who had divorced and remarried after she became an adult, still couldn't compare to the couple before her.

"Dad, Mom, I was ignorant before. Don't worry, I will work hard from now on..." She bit the tip of her chopsticks, her face flushed with shyness, and added in a low voice, "I will live a good life with Kuang Yunxiao." Silently, she added in her heart, "And I will be a dutiful daughter to you both."

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Since the original owner had voluntarily given up her life for a man, she felt perfectly justified in accepting her family and enjoying their love.

Weian wasn't so pretentious as to think that Qu Xiurong and Su Jinhe weren't her real parents, or to feel that enjoying their love would be unfair to the original owner.

Nonsense!

If the original owner had an issue with her justification, then why didn't she just send her back to the world where she belonged?

Qu Xiurong and Su Jinhe exchanged glances. Although they didn't understand why their youngest daughter's transformation had been so swift, since she had said so, they were willing to believe her for the time being.

Qu Xiurong placed a chopstick of bitter melon into her bowl, and Su Jinhe nodded. "Old Qu, give me the meat ration coupons tomorrow morning. I'll stop by the food station on my morning run to see if I can buy some meat."

A father, under normal circumstances, doesn't say sweet or sentimental things; the only thing he can do is bring back good food for his daughter.

Qu Xiurong rolled her eyes at him. "There are only two taels worth of meat coupons left; they don't expire until the end of next month. I was planning to save them for when my eldest sister has her birthday next month, to combine them with next month's coupons to buy more meat."

Though she said this, her actions didn't delay at all. Not waiting for the next morning, she immediately got up and retrieved the meat coupons from the powdered milk tin in the corner cabinet.

Su Jinhe tucked them into his pants pocket. "We'll deal with next month when it comes. If it really doesn't work out, we can just make a piece of clothing for Big Sister."

The couple ate while discussing the gifts for Weian’s eldest aunt.

Weian listened quietly, though her thoughts drifted to her aunt, Qu Xiuying.

In her memories, Qu Xiurong had told her more than once that she was only able to be born safely because of how quickly Qu Xiuying had acted back then.

According to Qu Xiurong, that year Su Jinhe was still in the army and hadn't transferred to civilian life yet. She was all alone, heavily pregnant, working and taking care of her paralyzed mother-in-law with four children in her hometown.

When she went into labor at full term, it happened to be during the day when the neighbors were at work and the children were at school. If Qu Xiuying hadn't happened to pass by and decided to check on Weian's grandmother, Qu Xiurong might have died in childbirth that day.

Because of this, not only Qu Xiurong herself, but all the Su siblings—including Su Jinhe—held deep gratitude for Qu Xiuying.

"You were born under your aunt's watchful eye, so you are the one among all the children whom she likes the most."

This was something Qu Xiurong had told Weian many times.

In fact, Qu Xiuying really did treat Weian better and with more affection than she did her four older siblings.

"Mom, how about this: we buy the ingredients and go to Aunt's place, and I’ll cook a meal for her myself?"

Putting together a simple birthday feast was the easiest thing in the world for Weian, who had been a food blogger in her previous life.

"Aunt has everything she needs at home. If you make her clothes, she might even complain that your craftsmanship isn't as good as hers. I’ve grown up this big without properly thanking her for saving my life, so let’s take this opportunity to host a birthday feast for her."

"You want to cook for your aunt yourself?"

It wasn't that Qu Xiurong didn't believe her youngest daughter, but she knew her daughter's skill level. Preparing simple home-cooked meals for two or three people was no problem, but she had never cooked for a group of five or six.

How could Weian not have thought of that? She had an excuse ready.

"Why wouldn't I be able to? Before, I didn't have the chance, and I was always busy with school. It's different now; I've graduated and am even engaged. If I don't learn now, what will I do when guests come over in the future?"

"How about this? This weekend night, let's have my second sister and brother-in-law come back to taste my cooking? You can give me some pointers then, Mom?"

By the end of this, Weian suddenly remembered something and casually brought up the idea.

As long as she was willing to learn, even if it was just housework, Qu Xiurong would never refuse to support her.

After thinking about it, Qu Xiurong nodded. "That works. I'll head to the food station or the general market a few days early to see if there are any fresh ingredients I can pick up."

The matter was decided. However, Weian’s mind was occupied with calling Su Yuping and her husband back for dinner that weekend, and what was going to happen that night.

The next day was Saturday, and there was still one more day of work. Weian hadn't forgotten what she said: if she were criticized, she would eat Ye Aihua into bankruptcy.

So, at noon, as soon as she got off work, she trotted over to Ye Aihua's house, which was only fifty meters away from the Su residence.

"Aihua, you promised to treat me to roast duck."

Ye Aihua was washing clothes at home.

Her parents and her brother and sister-in-law all ate at the factory canteen at noon, leaving only her and her younger brother at home. Since her brother had run off somewhere, she had only planned to eat the leftover rice porridge from the morning.

When Weian showed up asking to be treated to roast duck, she was furious but dared not speak. "You know I have no money, how can I treat you to roast duck?"

Weian curled her lip and pointed at the new socks on her feet. "If you have no money, how can you afford new socks?"

She didn't believe for a second that Ye Aihua hadn't squeezed some money out of that man.